The present invention generally relates to apparatus and methods for fabricating food items, and particularly to apparatus and methods for fabricating food items including food of a desired embossed shape supported on support material.
The sale of snack-type food products is a highly competitive business. In addition to the particular food components, increasingly the novelty and play value of the product are important in the marketability of any particular food item. For example, fruit-based snack products such as FRUIT ROLL-UPS.TM. and FRUIT-BY-THE-FOOT.TM. fruit products have found wide market acceptance.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel apparatus and methods for the fabrication of food items, which in the preferred form are in the form of continuous strings of food supported upon a relatively rigid strip of support material in a separately peelable arrangement. In the most preferred form, the food items include integral zones containing different foods which are not intermixed. In other preferred forms, the food items include continuous thin strips of food removably adhered to the support material separate and spaced from the strings of food.
Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus and methods where the food is compressed as strings and strips on the support material without a thin film of food being present on the support material and between the desired shape of food.